MBTA Transit Police arrested Ryan O’Donnell, who allegedly punched and spit at a bus driver Tuesday morning. Credit TPD
Transit Police say a Wakefield man is under arrest after assaulting an MBTA bus driver Tuesday morning in Malden.
The incident took place around 6:45 a.m. on board a Route 131 bus at the Oak Grove Station, according to the police department’s blog.
The driver told officers that the suspect, identified as 19-year-old Ryan O’Donnell, became “belligerent” after being told to pay his fare.
O’Donnell then allegedly spat in the driver’s face and punched him “with a closed fist multiple times in the face causing injury and severe bleeding from his nose,” transit officers said.
The driver was transported to a local hospital.
O’Donnell faces assault and battery charges. He is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Malden District Court.
The incident was just the latest in a string of assaults on MBTA bus drivers. A Silver Line driver was hit in the face by a passenger’s cane Saturday night.
A week ago at the Dudley Square station, a man allegedly punched a bus driver in the face over a fare dispute.
In March, a Route 16 bus driver was attacked and beaten by more than a dozen teenagers in Dorchester.
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